V'liyidan Sunshard
V'liyidan Sunshard was the heir and last true head of the somewhat infamous Sunshard Mage line. Born within his family's estate in Southwestern Quel'thalas, the heir to the tumultuous family did not go out of his way to attract attention, and yet seemed to manage it through chance, conflict, and explosive rivalries. Though the bulk of his works sadly appear to be lost, like most things, with the sacking of Quel'thalas, his line and lineage live on in his surviving son and daughter. Appearance Tall, lean, and pale, V’liyidan was the quintessential caster in build and stature. Standing at a willowy 5’9”, with inky black, straight hair reaching well down to his waist and a sharply trimmed goatee. He was a handsome if generally serious man, prone to frown lines and only occasionally moved to smiles or laughter. V’liyidan’s youngest son Iiloridan Sunshard resembles him very closely, almost eerily so, differing significantly only in the casts of their skin and the texture of their hair. Personality V'liyidan was the essence of reclusive, poorly-socialized magister. His often foul temper and lack of patience with the uneducated was well known by his academy days, and his superiority complex toward the arts of the arcane matched that of those with far greater fame than he. Despite all these poor elements, the mage was fiercely loyal to the few who managed to earn his trust and respect, and the small handful that loved him, loved him well. And those that didn’t, often found themselves on one side of a bitter rivalry. History While he studied and trained partially at one of the premier mage academies of Silvermoon, V'liyidan was heavily tutored in the arts by his own father, the previous reclusive Magister Sunshard. This extra training allowed him to excel in his schooling early on, and the momentum was readily kept throughout his time at the academy. The academy was placed in direct competition with the nearby training camp for spellbreaking, which naturally lead to fierce competition between the two schools. Pitting them against one another ensured a prodigious rate of advancement, as nothing motivates quite like grudges and rivalry. The exchanges between the two teaching camps reached epic proportions on his final year; V'liyidan narrowly escaped expulsion when another student was found culpable for activating an untested and forbidden arcane rune-working that V'liyidan himself had designed. Despite his contentious nature, the mage was fairly reclusive, often isolating himself at his family's estate of Sunbreaker Coast. The purposefully isolation allowed the mage family to practice their own arts without censure or mediation- and prevented the fallout from risky arcane experiments from poorly affecting others or attracting unwanted attention. The closest neighbors were largely of a human nature, and were scornfully ignored as such. Despite the Sunshard habit of keeping their works and talents close at hand, V'liyidan Sunshard produced a handful of published works that are still highly regarded to this day. A number of his discoveries, including several properties of leylines, methods of mana-extraction, and arcane construction are now commonly studied and occasionally taught, despite their often controversial nature. Relationships Family The relationship V'liyidan had with his younger brother, Nieydrus Sunshard, was a close, if quiet one. V’liyidan and his brother conducted a number of experiments together, but the exact nature of such experiments is a closely guarded secret. It has been implied that the pair had some responsibly for the Mana-Wrack, a large, arcane-tainted scar carving around a portion of the mountainous valleys around the border of their land, but remains unconfirmed at this time. Wife His relationship with his eventual wife Shalyndr Brightquill was an interesting one. Striking up a fearsome rivalry with the spellbreaker-in-training, the initial contact the two had with one another was far from positive. Indeed, most thought the pair despised one another; clashes between the magister and spellbreaker were intense battles of skill, and highly-regarded by observers. But of such intense feelings rivalries or relationships are made, and the tension between them eventually turned to passion. While the relationship was often contentious, the two eventually found an honest love between one another. Children With his children, V'liyidan was something of a distant father figure, who keenly felt the limits of his time and energy when it came to doting on them. He unashamedly gave his eldest son the bulk of his attention, passing along all of the spells and skills he had learned, and readily praising his talented progress. While pride demanded that he teach and mould all of his children in the ways of the Arcane, his second child, Aruenna Sunshard and an eventual additional son Iiloridan Sunshard were only granted comparative scraps of attention after his beloved heir. This, unfortunately, lead to a deep-seated rivalry between all three of the siblings. His relationship with his youngest child, the eventual priest Sunshard, was a contentious one fraught with unpleasantness. Iiloridan’s failure with the all but the most basic of arcane rather unfairly earned V’liyidan’s distain, and the boy’s eventual rebellion only inflamed their disagreement. The relationship failed to mend before the mage’s death, and their last words to each other were ones to regret. Death V’liyidan is believed to have met his end several days before the initial onslaught against Silvermoon and Quel'thalas. Sunbreaker Coast is relatively close to old Lordaeron and Strathholme. Contact with the mage ceased several days before Silvermoon fell, and it is thought that the undead stumbled upon the isolated area and set upon the mage without warning. As Sunbreaker Coast is still clogged with undead to this day, it is the most plausible theory, but one that still needs to be investigated. Category:Characters